Nordics Seek Common Stance on Climate Change After Talks in Iceland

Nordics Seek Common Stance on Climate Change After Talks in Iceland

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic leaders said they would seek a common stance on climate talks after a summit in Iceland that was attended by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the region had the responsibility of making sure that it becomes the more environmentally sustainable in the world, while her Swedish colleague Stefan Lofven said it was important for Nordic countries to have a united position when they go into next month’s UN Climate Action Summit in New York.

"We all aim to be carbon neutral, but we want to work closer together and share our experiences and knowledge so that each of us will be more successful,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told Bloomberg after a joint press conference on the Icelandic island of Videy. “Both nature itself and the youth of our countries are sending us a clear message that radical measures are due."

The leaders also stressed the need to intensify cooperation with Germany at a time when the Arctic is growing in importance, both militarily and as a business opportunity, while Finland’s Antti Rinne reiterated that Russia needs to honor the Minsk accord on the Ukraine ahead of Vladimir Putin’s visit to Helsinki on Wednesday.

(Adds exclusive comments from Icelandic prime minister in the third para.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir in Reykjavik at rsigurdardot@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo